Keeping alive the Islamic tradition of scholarship, insight, and purification...one day at a time.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

LESSON OF THE DAY 453

Ayahs of the Day:He said, "Then you are granted a stay, until the day of the determined time." He said, "My Lord, since You have misled me, I will make things attractive to them on earth and will beguile them all, except those of them who are Your sincere devotees." [15: 37 to 40]

Hadith of the Day:Ask Allah for forgiveness and ease in this world and in the next, for if you are given ease in this world and in the next, you will have attained success. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:Alas for the man who becomes dissolute and does not follow his pious wife. Alas for the woman who does not follow her pious husband. And woe on the husband and wife who imitate each other in sin and vice, helping one another to enter Hell-Fire. [Badiuzzaman Said Nursi]

Guidance of the Day:Imagine that everyone is enlightened except you. This strategy gives you a chance to practice something that is probably completely unacceptable to you. However, if you give it a try, you might find that it's one of the most helpful exercises in self-improvement. The idea is to suggest that everyone you know and everyone you meet is perfectly enlightened. That is, everyone except you! The people you meet are all here to teach you something. Perhaps the obnoxious driver or disrespectful teenager is here to teach you patience, the punk rocker might be here to teach you to be less judgmental.

Your job is to try to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you. You'll find that if you do this, you'll be far less annoyed, bothered, and frustrated by the actions and imperfections of other people. You can actually get yourself in the habit of approaching life in this manner and, if you do, you'll be glad you did.

Often, once you discover what someone is trying to teach you, it's easy to let go of your frustration. For example, suppose you are in the post office and the postal clerk appears to be intentionally moving slowly. Rather than feeling frustrated, ask yourself the question, "What is he trying to teach me?" May be you need to learn about compassion--how hard it would be to have a job that you don't like. Or perhaps you could learn a little more about being patient. Standing in line is an excellent opportunity to break your habit of feeling impatient.

You may be surprised at how fun and easy this is. All you're really doing is changing your perception from "Why they are doing this?" to "What are they trying to teach me?" Take a look around today at all the enlightened people. [Don't Sweat The Small Stuff]

Food for Thought:The sin of the youth is a grave thing indeed, but that of committed by an old man is even moreso.